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Elite Dangerous: Horizons
Elite Dangerous: Horizons is the second season of expansions to Elite Dangerous that gradually introduces a variety of new features and gameplay content. Throughout 2016 it will continue to be developed and updated, providing free improvements to the basegame for all Commanders, and headline features accessible only to Horizons owners. Release Elite Dangerous: Horizons v2.0 was released on PC on the 15th of December 2015. Four subsequent free expansion updates - 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 - are currently in development, and while 2.1 is confirmed for Q1 2016,Dev Update 14/1/16 - ED Forums no schedule for the subsequent updates has been announced. While an Xbox release has been confirmed, no date has been announced.David Braben AMA - /r/XboxOne The Apple Mac platform will not be getting Horizons due to the current lack of high-performance Compute Shaders in the graphics APIs supported by OS X.Answer From The Devs 15/10/15 - ED Forums Build Up To The First Expansion During the Kickstarter campaign of Elite Dangerous, post-release development of multiple feature additions were mentioned, and that they would be in the form of paid-for expansions. Examples given were Landing on Planets, Planets coming to Life, and leaving your ship to explore Space Stations and board Enemy Ships. Pledge tiers from £80 upwards included a Lifetime Expansion Pass, making all expansions free for those that backed to a high enough level.Elite: Dangerous by Frontier Developments - KickstarterElite: Dangerous Development Plan - YoutubeDavid Braben Explains Elite: Dangerous' £100 Premium Beta - Eurogamer Throughout Elite Dangerous' development, expansions and their features were repeatedly mentioned on the game's forums, official newsletters, and in the media.Feature Requests Update #8 - ED ForumsElite: Dangerous Newsletter #29Elite: Dangerous Newsletter #32 Meanwhile in contradiction with other official statements, the Kickstarter campaign's FAQ stated that while Landing on Planets would not be in the initial release, and that they would focus on the feature afterwards, there was no mention of expansions, paid-for or free. The Lifetime Expansion Pass was also available as on optional upgrade for Beta backers, priced at £35 until the 29th of July 2014.Last Change To Grab Lifetime Expansion Pass - PCGamesN Announcement Elite Dangerous: Horizons was officially announced on the 5th of August 2015, priced at either £30 for existing CMDRs, or £40 for new players; Lifetime Expansion Pass owners would get it free. The initial release would include the first expansion Planetary Landings, adding new gameplay including the ability to fly down, land, and drive around planet surfaces in an SRV. A temporary sale of the Lifetime Expansion Pass was also announced, priced at £120.Announcing Elite Dangerous: Horizons - ED ForumsHorizons Expansion Announced For Elite: Dangerous - Eurogamer Landing on Planets was an eagerly awaited feature amongst the community, and statements doubting its arrival led to the subsequent availability of Official Elite Dangerous Socks.Elite Dangerous Socks - FrontierstoreTFaddy and Planetary Landings - /r/EliteDangerousSockbot: A Post Mortem - /r/EliteDangerous In a Eurogamer Expo Developer Session on the 25th September 2015, featuring Frontier's CEO David Braben, Executive Producer Michael Brookes, and Lead Designer Sandro Sammarco, the in-development features of Horizons were discussed alongside footage of concept work.EGX 2015 Developer Session: David Braben Reveals the Future of Elite Dangerous - Youtube Controversy Following the pre-order announcement, its price sparked many discussions, with a substantial section of the CMDR community expressing their disappointment.Horizons Price Discussion: What do you think of it? - ED Forums Upon its initial release in December 2015, more disappointment was expressed in the form of negative-recommendation-bombing on the Steam review page of Elite Dangerous,Chart from SteamSpy showing Elite Dangerous' reviews during Horizons' release period with many commenting dissatisfaction about Horizons' price and in-development expansions.Elite Dangerous Reviews - Steam Expansions Released Planetary Landings, 2.0 Players are able to land on four types of airless planets - rocky, metal, ice and rocky/metal - which make up 61% of the planet types in Elite Dangerous' Milky Way. These planets vary in size and composition, therefore having different gravity forces affecting the flight and landing dynamics. The landings are graphically seamless with a small pause for instance loading, and the planets can be explored in low-level flight or by using a Surface Reconnaissance Vehicle.Elite Dangerous: Horizons - Pre-Order Once on the surface, players can discover constructed, as well as natural, points of interest, which can be military bases, research establishments, hideouts, starports, mining complexes, crashed ships and debris to investigate. The nature of the encounter varies depending on where the player is: the planet type and composition, and the local topography affected by geology.Elite Dangerous Newsletter #97 Players can craft consumables using a process called synthesis, using materials looted from points of interest. SRV Fuel, Ammunition Boosters, Frame Shift Drive Boosters, and SRV Repairs can be crafted with different improvements and quality levels, based on the amount of materials used.Elite Dangerous Newsletter #92 Expansions In Development There will be 4 expansions within Season 2 of Elite Dangerous, each named after their headline addition. The updates are not completely restricted to Horizons players only, with many gameplay additions and improvements accessible to all players. The Engineers, v2.1 Scheduled for Spring 2016. Everything changes. Introducing an expanded mission system and game-changing loot. Craft exotic weapons and modules for your spacecraft and build a ship unlike any other. The Guardians, v2.2 Scheduled for Summer 2016. Take what comes and strike back with double. Bring a second ship to every combat encounter with Ship-Launched Fighters and defend your passengers against the deadliest threats in the galaxy. The Commanders, v2.3 Scheduled for Fall 2016. Team up and stand together. Forge your own identity with the new Commander Creator, then share your bridge with Multi-Crew and fly with friends. ???, v2.4 A secret to be revealed in Elite Dangerous: Horizons’ final expansion! Vehicles Ground Vehicles References Gallery File:5744cf2633bfc8a2ac7b02e316cece88.jpg |Concept art of Scarab entering a city, as seen in Newsletter #95 File:E5f30f6771d5d25744c260ad52398d4395b74513.png |Planetary Approach Preview from Newsletter #96 File:Concept_EliteDangerousHorizons_Chase.jpg |Concept Art of planetary chases File:Elite_Dangerous_-_On_the_Horizon_Episode_4_-_Q&A_with_David_Braben Horizons-reveal-cobra-landing.jpg|Horizons Cobra Landing Horizons-egx-art.jpg|Horizons EGX Art Horizons-concept2.jpg|Horizons Concept Art 2 Horizons-concept1.jpg|Horizons Concept Art 1